Vehicle exhaust, and more particularly exhaust pipe to exhaust manifold attachments, are difficult to assemble and operate reliably due to the harsh environment and confined space in which they operate.
An example of such an attachment is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,194, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. As shown in the Figure of the '194 patent, a pair of diametrically spaced bolts 20 connect a flange 16 to an exhaust manifold 10. This attachment provides a clamping force which is unequally distributed about the periphery of the joint, since the bolts provide a maximum clamping force at two discrete diametrically opposed positions.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an exhaust manifold attachment which provides constant clamping force about the circumference of the attachment.